In these pictures it is just 3 days after Christmas. Study them before I make my point….

Any guesses? If you said, “Well, it looks like they are playing with broken electronics, not new Christmas toys,” YOU ARE RIGHT! Want to know how long this occupied them? Hours. Not one or two, but probably more like three or four. I’m not sure, but it consumed them for the better part of the day. It all came up because our area was having an amnesty sort of trash day where you could put out extra from the usual one (issued) can. I remembered that the shed at this rental house had a can full of old junk that looked like it was waiting for the trash. We pulled it around to the back door to inspect and out came some identified and some unidentified gadgets. There was the “brain” for a heating blanket, 2 large rechargeable flashlights, a space heater, an old dust buster size vac, 2 hairdryers, and more. We tried out the ones we knew what to do with and found the 2 hairdryers to be still working (one since burned out), the space heater to be working (it is being put to use in Adeline’s room for a little while each night), the vac seemed fine and is charging, the flashlights worked for a few seconds and then no response. In the end there were 2 flashlights, a circuit board, blanket temp controller, and some unknown widget up for grabs. They kids used screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer, and more to disassemble and re-create the pieces. There was much excitement over the freedom to tinker with these “real” things. Seriously, who needs toys when you have natural curiosity and a big imagination? Adeline made “a walkie-talkie, a wire jump rope, a box to keep stuff in, and an air-conditioner.”